Tag: computers

The social media site Twitter has announced its first profit since the founding of the company in 2005. The last quarter of 2017 saw the company making $ 91 million in profits. After the announcement, Twitter sharesrose more than 20%.

Twitter made the profits from an increase in ad sales and from expansion outside the US. Overall revenue has been increasing constantly and is now at $ 731 million, due to a better targetting of ads. While revenue in the US fell, it increased strongly in Japan and other countries.

Currently, Twitter is reported to have over 330 million active users. It has been an important media outlet for celebrities and politicians, especially in the United States, for a long time. However, surprisingly, up to now, the company has failed to make any profits. Business experts have criticized Twitter for failing to grow over the longer term and step out of the shadows of its bigger brother, Facebook.

The company has announced its plans for 2018. It wants to improve the quality of information and tacklesecurity issues, for example, fake accounts and spam. As many as 15% of all accounts on Twitter are said to be controlled by bots.

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco – Image: Runner1928

Words

account = agreement you have with an organisation so that you can use its services or website

ad = advertisement = pictures, text or a short film that persuades people to buy a product

announce = to say in public, officially

bot = computer programme that can control information on a website

celebrity = famous person

constantly = slowly, but all the time

currently = at the moment

due to = because of

especially = above all

expansion = when something increases in size

fail = here: not succeed in doing something

fake = not a real person

founding = when the company started

increase = grow, become larger

longer term = over a longer period of time

outlet = here: organization through which information is presented

overall = total; altogether

politician = person who works in the government, parliament or a political party

profit = the money you for selling things or doing business after your costs have been paid for

reported = it is said that …

revenue = money that a company gets in a certain time for selling products and services

rise – rose = to go up

security issues = problems in which the website is attacked by criminals and hackers

shares = part of a company that you can buy

spam = message that is sent to many different people by email or the Internet, usually as a way of advertising something

Amazon has opened its first automated store to the public. Amazon Go is a grocery store located on the ground level of the corporation’s Seattle headquarters.

The store, which offers food, salads and boxed meals could revolutionize our shopping experience in the future.

As soon as you arrive at the store, a cell phone app connected to an Amazon account registers your presence. Everything that happens in the store is tracked by hundreds of infrared cameras. When you pick up items from the shelves they are automaticallyput into yourvirtualshopping cart. The cameras also detect when you put an item back on the shelves and remove it from your cart. The moment you walk out your account is charged without making any physicalpayment.

The technologies used at Amazon Go are the same as with driverless cars – computer tracking, weight sensors on shelves and complicatedalgorithms.

The 1,800 square foot store has been open to Amazon employees for a year. Now the public can also shop there.

However, not everything has been running smoothly in the store’s opening year.There were hardships to overcome. For example, it’s hard for cameras to distinguish between different flavours or products that look the same. They also have problems handling people who move around or identifying shoppers with similar body sizes and clothes.

Even though there are no checkout counters and cashiers who make you wait in line, there are shop assistants who restock goods and help customers find their way around.

Amazon Go store in Seattle – Image: SounderBruce

Words

account = here: the services of a company that you use

algorithm = set of instructions that are followed in a fixed order and used for solving problems

automated = using computers, cameras and machines

boxed meal = meal that has already been cooked and is ready to eat

cashier = person who you pay money to in a shop

charge = you have to pay money for the goods you buy

checkout counter = place where you pay for products when you leave a store

complicated = difficult

connect = link

corporation = big company

detect = discover, notice

distinguish = find the difference between two things

driverless = without a driver

employee = a person who works there

even though = although, while

flavour = the taste of something

hardships = problems, difficulties

headquarters = place from where a company operates

however = but

identify = find out the name of someone

infrared = light that gives out heat but cannot be seen

item = product

located = to be found; situated

overcome = solve

physical payment = real money you pay with in a store

presence = someone is present

public = here: everybody

register = record

restock = bring in more items to replace those that have been bought

revolutionize = to change completely the way you do something

shopping experience = the way we shop

similar = almost the same

smoothly = here: the way it should; without any problems

track = watch closely

virtual = not real; here: your Amazon account

weight sensor = small object that finds out if there is something on the shelf or not

The World Health Organisation has added the term “gaming disorder” to its International Classification of Diseases. It refers to people who are addicted to video and other games and cannot stop. It is the first update in the WHO’s catalogue in almost three decades.

According to the WHO, gaming becomes a disorder if you are unable to control how long you play and when to stop. When that happens, it gets control of your life, influences everyday situations and affects your daily routine. WHO officials say that excessive gaming is a serious disorder that must be closely watched

In order for a person to be regarded as having a gaming disorder, the behaviour must be going on for at least one year, either constantly or in phases. Gamers put their addiction above their family life, meeting with friends and going to school.

On one side studies have shown that playing video games may help with problems likedepression anddementia.However, gaming is highlyaddictive and many people play for a longer time than is healthy. As a result, people get fired for not going to work or miss school classes for a longer period of time.

Many continue with their addiction, even if they see and realize the negative consequences it leads to.

Gaming is now regarded as a WHO disorder – Image: Marco Verch

Words

according to = as said by …

addicted to = not able to stop doing something that may be harmful

addiction = when you have to and want to do something regularly

behaviour = here: too much gaming

classification = when you put people into a group

consequence = result

constantly = all the time, without interruption

daily routine = what you normally do every day

decade = ten years

dementia = illness that affects the brain, in which you cannot think clearly and behave in a normal way; you also forget a lot of things

depression = situation in which you are unhappy, nervous and cannot live a normal life

disorder = mental or physical illness which stops your body from working the way it should

excessive = too much

get fired = lose your job

highly addictive = here: the will to play a game is so strong you cannot stop

however = but

influence = change

official = person who is in a high position in an organisation

realize = understand how bad the situation is

refer = to be about something

regard as = here: to put a person into this category

serious = very bad

studies = work that is done to find out more about a topic

update = change

World Health Organisation (WHO) = international organisation that is part of the United Nations, which helps countries improve the health of their population; it also offers information about diseases and provides medicine

NASA has discovered the eighth planet of a star system, similar to our solar system. The star, Kepler-90 is over 2,500 light years away and larger and hotter than our sun. It is the first star known to have as many planets as our solar system.

The Kepler-90 star system is much more compact than our solar system. The outermost planet orbits the star at about the same distance as the earth orbits the sun. its inner planets are small and rocky while the outer ones are larger and made up of gas

The newly discovered planet, Kepler -90i, is the third celestial object in the star system. It is probably rocky and similar to our earth, but because of its closeness to its home star has an averagesurface temperature of about 400° C. It moves around the star once every 14.4 days.

The discovery was made based ondataprovided by the Kepler space telescope. Launched in March 2009, the telescope has constantly been scanning certain sections of the universe in search of new stars and planetary systems. Up to now, over 2,000 new worlds have been discovered.

To help analyse the data NASA has been relying on artificial intelligence software supplied by Google. This software examines weak signals of light when objects pass in front of a star. The new way of examining data is expected to reveal even more new planets in the future.

Kepler 90 star system compared to our solar system

Words

artificial intelligence = when computers do intelligent things that only people can do, such as think and make their own decisions

average = normal, usual

based on = use

celestial = about the sky

closeness = being close to something

compact = here: the planets are closer together and near to the star

constantly = always

data = information

discover = to find something for the first time

distance = the amount of space between two objects

examine = look at something closely

launch = to send an object into space

light year = the distance light travels in one year = 9,460,000,000,000 km

orbit = to go around

outermost = the farthest away from something

planetary system = star with planets moving around it

provide = give

rely = depend on; need

reveal = to show something that was not known before

rocky = covered with or made of rocks; here: a hard surface

scan = when a machine looks at things carefully but quickly

similar = like

solar system = our sun and the eight planets that move around it

surface temperature = temperature you get when you stand on the planet

Up to 800 million people worldwide could lose their jobs because of automation. About half of them will have to learn new skills to get another job. In the United States alone, up to a third of the workforce could become unemployed within the next few decades. These are the results of a recentpublication by McKinsey Global Institute.

Jobs that involvemanual or factory work are the ones that are most at risk. People who work in social fields, the environment or management are less likely to lose their jobs. In countries with ageing populations, more jobs will be needed in health care.

The report says that there is no reason to panic because new job fields will emerge which will more than compensate the loss of traditional jobs. In addition, economic activity and rising productivity will also provide for more jobs. However, workers will need to adapt to jobs more quickly than before and lifelong learning will be essential.

Artifical intelligence is already spreading quickly in some areas. Technological inventions, like self-driving cars, will become hugely popular within a decade. More jobs will be needed in the energy sector and people will find more work building modern infrastructure in cities.

However, governments around the globe will have to give support and spend money on programs to train workers for new tasks.

The report states that the situation today is similar to the beginning of the 20th century when agricultural societies became more and more industrialised. The invention of the automobile contributed to this change. In the 1980s the computer revolution eliminated some jobs but created many others.

Automation in a German factory – Image: KUKA Roboter Gmbh

Words

adapt = change; get used to

ageing = getting older

agricultural = farming

artificial intelligence = the study of how to make computers do intelligent things that people can do, such as think and make decisions

automation = the use of computers and machines to do jobs that normally people do

century = a hundred years

compensate = replace

contribute = here: to play a major part

decade = ten years

economic activity = producing and consuming goods

eliminate = lose; do away with

emerge = come up, appear

environment = people and things that are around you in your life

essential = extremely important and necessary

government = the people who rule a country

health care = services that a country provides for its people

hugely = very much

in addition = also

infrastructure = the basic systems that a country or city needs, like railways, banks, schools etc..

invention = a useful machine that is created

involve = here: to be about

less likely = will probably not …

management = controlling and organising the work of a company

manual = with your hands and physical strength

productivity = the goods that are produced by workers in a certain time

For the first time in history, China has overtaken the United States in the number of supercomputers. Currently, China has a total of 202 of the world’s 500 fastest computers, up from 159 half a year ago. The number of US supercomputers has dropped to 144.

The world’s most powerful computer is located in China. The Sunway TaihuLight , at Wuxi can do 93 quadrillioncalculations per second. The fastest UScomputer,the Titan, is ranked fifth while Europe’s speediest computer is Switzerland’s Piz Daint, ranked third.

Supercomputers are machines that occupyentire buildings and use the combined power of thousands of processors. They are used to carry out special tasks that involve a huge number of calculations. Among them are weather forecasts and climate studies, as well as strategic tasks like nuclear weapons simulations.

Chinese supremacy in the world of supercomputing reflects the country’s investment in research and development. One-fifth of the money used on research and development around the world is spent in China.

On the other side, many Chinese systems have been created to earn money. Processing power is rented to other national and international companies.

For years the speed of supercomputers has steadily increased although since 2012 this increase has slowed down.